VULNERABLE
by itsdejaentendu
Summary: “Call Edward. Tell him to get a flight today – to bring Bella. Assure him this is not about turning her.” He then turned his eyes to the Volturi. “We cannot be left vulnerable.” Alec threatens to leave the Volturi over a girl, but will they let him leave?
1. chapter o1, vulnerable intro

I glared out the window in utter disdain. My finger hit the bright red 'END' button on my phone multiple times, somehow hoping that it wouldn't turn off, in accordance to the flight rules. I watched as the stewardess stomped down the aisle as if it was a runway and she was the fifty dollar per show model. Honestly, if she would've made it onto _America's Next Top Model_ she would've been cut immediately. Ugh. I hated flight attendants.

Hardly had the flight attendant left then had I reached for my iTouch to turn it on. I didn't mind if I got caught – I'd demand a refund if they tossed me off the plane. Hell, if we got high enough what could they do? Push me out a door? Yeah, I was sure that if they did that I'd sue – if I survived – and then there would be a lot of fun with lawyers and courts. No one wanted that.

So I slumped back in my seat, crossed my arms and then drifted off to sleep. If I was lucky the kid behind me would sleep too, I hated it when they kicked my seat.

Honestly, I'd never been so tempted to smack that little kid.** (AN, don't worry, vienna's really not that mean! she's just incredibly irritable on flights and… yeah. she's not that bad, i promise!)**

"Excuse me?" The stewardess asked, prodding me with one well-manicured finger. "Would you like a refreshm—"

I made a gurgling noise in the back of my throat as I pulled my headphones out and sat up. "Uh… yeah, do you have Root Beer? Oh, and how about those pretzel things… please?" I was positive that they wouldn't have any Butterfinger candy bars or any bubble gum ice cream, so I didn't even bother to ask for them. Oh, bubble gum ice cream sounded so good.

"Mhmm," she passed me the drink and the little package of pretzels and then moved on to the man to the left of me. He waved her off rudely and turned around with a grumpy look on his face – the same look I made when we started to take off.

I hate getting into enclosed spaces, such as airplanes, because I'm afraid that somehow we won't be able to get out. That and I also get horrible motion sickness, terrible motion sickness. Claustrophobia tends to take me over in the first few minutes of getting into small rooms, cars, planes, or whatever seems too enclosed. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes once more, hoping that I could fall back asleep. The odds were few to none, so I simply put my headphones back in my ears and tried to ignore the inordinately loud people next to me.

"Come on, Aimee, you knew that I was drunk!"

I winced, but paused my song. This could possibly be entertaining – and yes, I had run out of things to enjoy after only a few hours on the plane.

"Toby, you _never_ told me that." The woman, Aimee, refused to listen to her husband. I decided that he was probably a wealthy businessman and she was the gorgeous, lucky girl that got picked first. Aimee didn't seem to be very happy about this. She waved her hands around frantically and made random gestures with her hands while talking. "I can't believe you," her voice dropped, but it was loud enough for me to hear, "slept with your _secretary_."

I restrained myself from laughing. All I had to do was look over at Toby's face and one glance was enough – he had a look of complete and utter confusion and frustration. Aimee looked satisfied, so she cocked her eyebrow and waited for him to say something that would make her actually have to think about this argument.

Honestly, I felt bad for eavesdropping, but, as I said before, I had nothing better to do.

"Aimee, I'm wearing my wedding ring, though! Look!"

"That doesn't change a single thing, Toby."

After another hour of them fighting I got exhausted and fell asleep again. I found it repetitive – they constantly added each their conversation partner's name in every. single. fucking. sentence. Toby would always say 'Aimee' at the beginning or end and Aimee would always say Toby at the beginning or the end. I was slightly annoyed by the end, but as I drifted off to sleep I was able to drown out Aimee and Toby from my mind. Had I not been half-asleep already I would've told them to shut up, but soon I resumed my former position.

They continued arguing for the rest of the flight, or at least that was what I thought. Why, you might ask? At the end of the flight I woke up to two things – the first was the pilot announcing that we were beginning our descent – and the second was Aimee smacking Toby and jumping out of her seat. I watched out of the corner of my eye as she pranced away to the bathroom, even though the seatbelt sign was on. Once again I suppressed giggles as Aimee was stopped and then escorted back to her seat by the flight attendant, who warned them both that they wouldn't be able to return on the airline if they did something like that again.

I watched with relative interest, then turned my head when Toby stared at me, probably wondering why some kid was grinning at them.

"Do you find something funny?"

'_Incredibly,'_ I thought, but replied smoothly "Of course not – I'm only happy that your wife was taken back to her seat before we experienced turbulence – it would've been terrible for her to be hurt in the last few minutes of the flight."

Obviously he didn't like my sense of humor, because the next thing that he was doing was eyeing me as if I was carrying a bomb under my shirt. Jesus H. Christ, what a brat I was today. I could blame it on the flying, which always made me a little obnoxious, or I could blame it on the fact that I'd have to save up my energy to see my over-zealous grandma.

I allowed Aimee and Toby to leave – along with the rest of the plane – before I even started to get up and take my carry-on bag from the overhead compartment.

As I left I watched a man in front of me with a face sp perfect that I couldn't help but stare. His eyes caught mine and for a moment I was sure that he was going to ask me why I was acting rude. His eyes were the oddest shade of blue-violet, with almost a hint of red in them. I watched as he gracefully exited the plane, thanking the crew on the way out.

I was far too dazed to even say anything to the pilot except wave to him slightly and follow after the dark-haired man. He looked to be about twenty-five, but his somber look made him seem to be thirty. Even the subdued look on his face didn't make me draw back from him – he was so gorgeous that I couldn't help but look at him. I almost scared myself when I tried to speak to him – the words that formed on my lips were even scarier than I would've thought. Honestly, if you would've almost said what I attempted to, then you would've hit yourself with a mallet multiple times. My mind screamed for me not to say anything, and thankfully I didn't, but my mouth was practically shrieking 'Your essence is gorgeous!' in such a voice that I would've scared myself by. I could hear myself play it over and over again in my mind, the same high-pitched, girly, fake voice saying 'your essence is gorgeous' a million times.

Thankfully he glided off so I was fine and didn't have to say anything that would've been incredibly embarrassing. Once again thankfully he had left, so I could focus on the directions that my grandmother had given me. Grandma Jocelyn hadn't ever been the best with directions, so I decided that it would be best to turn all my attention there. I slung my bag over my shoulder and stepped into the building. I heard millions of voices running together – but I couldn't make out a single distinct one. A mix of English and Italian and French and many other languages I couldn't name competed to be heard, competed so loudly that I got a headache just from trying to make sense of one of the voices.

"Grandma Jocelyn?" I questioned under my breath, knowing that she wouldn't hear me.

I glanced down at the sheet of paper for only a few seconds, then I bumped into something – something solid.

"Jesus!" I practically flew back, but regained my strength only moments after. What the hell…?

"Sorry," the boy murmured softly, though his tone was perfect for my ears.

I stood there, staring at him, for a few moments while he seemed to be… sniffing me. Suddenly he turned around and then started taking long strides the opposite direction, as if I'd scared him off because I smelled bad or something. I shook my head. "Oh, don't worry, I'm fine!" I called over the roar of people too busy to turn around and look at me. I wasn't shocked, though. I had just been on a plane for who knows how when and I was sure that any boy, especially one so attractive, would run from me at first sight. He didn't need to be so impolite about it, though.

While I meandered thoughtlessly towards the 'meeting place', my mind wandered back to the two exquisite-looking men that I'd seen today. Both had made eye contact with me, but I had only gotten one word out of the both of them before they had disappeared. The boy, though… the younger one that I managed to knock into… he seemed somewhat distraught.

I straightened my bags up and slung another back over my shoulder. I stared after him, though, and wasn't able to peel away my eyes. He was long gone, but the path of disgruntled people that he'd pushed through weren't. They grumbled and muttered under their breath, but I turned around.

All my worries about the boy stopped when I heard my name being screamed – but not in my grandma's voice.

"VIENNA! VIENNA BAUER!" A brunette lady dressed in a white camisole and a pink skirt yelled my name as she read it off a sign she was holding. I hardly even thought twice before making my way toward her. She continued to repeat my name even as I waved my hand to her to show her that I was there. Obviously I was lost in the crowd, as she didn't make any motion to stop looking for me.

"I'm Vienna." I tapped her on the shoulder, making sure she knew that I was there.

She glanced at a picture in her hands and then at me a few times – I could tell that it was a picture of me. "Ai, then you _are_ Vienna. I'm Natalina." Natalina pronounced every single syllable in her name as if it was a separate word, which made me grin.

"Nice to meet you, Natalina," I answered, obviously not quite as irate as I was on the plane. "But where's Jocelyn?"

"Oh, yes, of course. Your grandmother will be a bit late – she's having a few problems with arriving." Natalina paused for a moment, as if to remember why. "Err… Jocelyn's stuck in Sanibel. There were a few storms and she got a little tied up."

"_Sureeeee_,"I should've known better than to think that Jocelyn would be here on time – she was always late or missing or had something that popped up so she had to cover up with a friend of hers. I knew that there was a reason she wasn't here; after all, Jocelyn was notorious for forgetting things. See, my grandma had bought my ticket for the plane – but, of course, had forgotten to buy herself one. "When will she get here?"

Natalina thought for a moment, "She said four days, tops; there were a few flights that didn't have good enough seats."

"Of course."

"I'm sorry, that's what she told me."

"Wait, are you here just to tell me this?" Oh shit, what was she here for?

"I can't believe I forgot! I'm here to help you with everything Jocelyn was supposed to. Food, directions, hotel – I'm going to be your grandma until she gets here."

I hadn't even noticed that she had intended to stay with me – I was positive that she was going to show me where my grandma was waiting lazily in the car and then leave. Well, this could be alright… honestly; at least Jocelyn had said that she would be here in at the most four days. Four days was always the waiting time that she assigned to anything. I would've been worried if she would've said five, which normally meant six, but four was perfect. I thought for a moment – I could see the city without Jocelyn breathing down my neck and bugging me about being boring. Natalina didn't look more than her early twenties, so she couldn't be an old fart bag – and if she was working for my grandma I could just call her off whenever I wanted.

"Then you'll have a lot to live up to if you're going to be Jocelyn," I joked.

"Hopefully I won't eventually _become_ her."

"That's what I hope, too."

Natalina led me outside and I followed her to a little dark blue car. I couldn't have told you the name of it if I would've tried. (I'm positive that it's one of those European cars, the ones that are super-conservative and junk.)

"So, chaperone, what hotel are we staying at?" I asked her after a good fifteen minutes of driving. Hopefully Jocelyn had splurged, as she always did, and bought us something really extravagant to stay in. Normally Jocelyn was good at getting amazing hotels, but sometimes she tended to just randomly pick one.

"Ew, don't call me chaperone – it makes me feel old." Natalina insisted, a look of disgust crossing her face.

We laughed for a moment until I posed the question once again. "Where are we staying, though?"

She gave me the same blank look before shaking her head. "Oi, I forget everything, don't I? You'll be staying in the historic district – the center of town. It's the loveliest part…" Natalina went on and on about how beautiful her city was – by now I picked up on that she was a native Italian – her partial accent and pretty skin showed me that. "And we can go to the Guarnacci Etruscan Museum and see everything. Hotel La Locanda is probably the best place ever – I used to work there about uh… five years ago when I needed a job, but I soon quit…" As she rambled on I enjoyed the foliage. Beautiful chapels and other medieval buildings rolled by me, but I couldn't get those two men that were so different, so… so pretty out of my head.

I couldn't think of words to describe it, but as we pulled up to the hotel, I started to think of other distractions to keep my mind from wandering to them.


	2. chapter o2, OUT OF CONTROL

**( DISCLAIMER: I don't own twilight or the characters in any way. i do have a few ocs that i own, obviously. oh, and there IS actually a Hotel La Locanda, so google it and look at the room that Vienna's staying in! yeah, i don't own hotel la locanda, but i wish. oh, and i'm going to mention a time difference, but i'm too lazy to mention too much about it. )  
**

Natalina had supplied me with a lot of food last night – apparently my grandmother was incredibly kind to her and had given her extra money if I liked what she did for me. She took care of the groceries, dinner and bringing in my bags. Obviously Jocelyn had offered her a lot.

I woke up early in the morning for some reason and stayed awake. I took advantage of the hotel's free Wi-Fi and sent e-mails to my friends and my family – especially Jocelyn, who I had reason to chew out. I didn't expect for Natalina to be up to my room for at least another two hours, so I fell back on my bed and decided to close my eyes for a bit. Last night all I'd been able to dream of was the two men that I'd seen earlier. The one with the dark hair and the one with the lighter, almost blonde-silver hair filled my dreams and left me sleepless. Both of their eyes had been extraordinary and for the few moments that I'd been able to look into them, I had seen the strangest color ever.

Eight hours difference – it was such an odd time in Italy, but I felt fully rested. I had fallen right asleep – flying always tends to exhaust me.

But I didn't dwell on that; instead I decided that it was time to get out of my pajamas. I hopped up from my double-wide bed and rushed to the bathroom, where all my hygiene products had been stored. I was used to having to get ready quickly – for school in the morning I normally could only take about five minutes to put on my makeup, but today I had all the time I needed. I carefully applied and then reapplied cover up and then foundation, some eyeliner on the top lid and finally mascara. I glanced at the clock after I left the bathroom. Easy enough, that had taken… seven minutes.

"Jesus Christ!" I muttered, rolling my eyes. Maybe if I would've put on a little more make up… no, I'd be fine.

My sundress had already been laid out on top of my suitcase. I checked the weather forecast a million times every day for the weeks leading up to this, hoping that it would be warm enough to wear my new summer wardrobe. Quickly I slipped into the teal sundress and then fell on the bed. Boredom washed over me and so I flipped on the television.

Two hours later I woke up again, stretched across the bed with the TV still on – and Natalina's high, carefree voice calling out to me through rather thin door.

"Viennnaaaa," she sang. I could hear her prancing about behind the door.

"Coming!" I yelled, grabbed my shoes and then left. I fucking hated time changes.

In my hands I held my white wedges, I was sure that my hair was mussed from sleeping again, which was probably why she gave me the sideways look. I ran my fingers through my brunette hair – even though it was naturally dirty-blonde – just to straighten it up a bit. Natalina raised her eyebrows at me and pursed her lips in a half smile while I threw my shoes down and slid my feet in.

"Where are we going?" I asked as we made our way out to our car once again.

"Didn't I tell you we were in the epicenter of the historic district? How about we just drop you off there and you can walk around for a bit? I know the time difference is going to kill you today, but it seems like you've got enough sleep. I'll meet you for lunch at two, alright?" Natalina practically kicked me out of the car into a throng of people all going the opposite way. Of course.

It was only after I had fought my way to the center of the gorgeous stone buildings that I finally noticed al the beauty around me. I saw some native olive-skinned, lightly-freckled Italians passing by me, speaking rapidly in their home language. I stood there for a moment, just to soak in all that was Volterra, Italy, until I felt a hand at my shoulder.

I quickly spun around to face whoever had touched me and was faced, once again, with someone so ethereal that I had to pause to drool for a moment. The most shocking part about this was that the person that I was staring at was a girl – at least, I thought. There was a moment of uncertainty in my mind. She looked similar to the boy I'd seen yesterday, but slightly different – pale skin, dark circles, peculiarly colored eyes, short, dark hair and plump limps.

I took a step back.

"Oh my!" The girl started, feigning distress. "I'm quite sorry – I thought that you were my friend. I guess I'm mistaken, then!" She seemed incredibly enthusiastic about something, but I couldn't decide what.

"Don't worry, it's fine," I replied in a less-than-enthusiastic voice. I was still staring at her as if she was something from another planet, which should've disrupted her peppiness, but it didn't at all.

The girl sighed. "I'm Jane – have you seen a girl around here, Camilla?"

I shook my head. Jane, that was her name, so plain – she was a plain girl, but there was something there that I couldn't put my finger on… "I'm so sorry, but I haven't seen a Camilla anywhere." Jane seemed to be insinuating that she wished for me to help, and I took the bait – I just couldn't stop looking at her. "But I, uh, I could help you look for her."

Jane clapped her hands together in what, for a moment, looked like false peppiness. She grinned and motioned for me to follow her. "I lost her somewhere around the castle…" she muttered in a voice so sweet that it had to be unreal.

"Huh?" I partially snapped out of my trance. "In where?"

"Oh, nowhere," her voice sweetened again.

I followed her for about five minutes – but I had no idea where we were going. I was too transfixed on the back of her head to look away, but when I managed to look away I saw exactly what I didn't want. I was in a wide hallway of a stone building – there were dim lights from the walls and as soon as I realized that I wasn't in the square I started to freak out.

Jane obviously sensed that something was wrong, because she spun around and faced me. "Is everything alright?"

"Where are we going?" I hesitated and then stopped.

I watched as Jane smirked a bit before her smirk turned to a smile. "We have yet to find Camilla, so I thought that I would be kind to you and allow you to come to the tour that the two of us were going to go on. We," she paused for a moment. "are in the Volterra castle. I'll show you around if you like, but if you'd rather not."

Had I been male then I probably would have fallen for her charms, but she was so obviously trying to draw me into that room that lay ahead. I could hear voices from the room, soothing voices. "And why might I be allowed this exclusive tour?" I asked, my puzzled hazel eyes half-closed.

For a moment Jane paused once more, hesitating as I had only just. "My brother, my brother has found work here and offers me free tours for those who are my friends. Be you my friend? Or should you wish to turn back and leave? It is amazing, honestly, you must know that it is one of the best things here in Volterra." Jane flashed me a genuine smile that made me do the same - I couldn't figure what to do – so I nodded.

"Mhm," I agreed, staring over her shoulder to see what she saw. "Sounds lovely as can b—" I stopped speaking as soon as Jane turned back around, her ears practically perking up at an unheard sound. I watched her as her head turned to peer around the corner. "Wha—" I started to say, but then I heard the angry footsteps.

"JANE!" I heard an angry voice call.

Jane turned to me and then grabbed my hand. I drew back, for her hand, soft as it was, sent shivers down my spine for the cold. She motioned for me to follow her towards the door at the end of the hall, but then something caught my eye.

Something… or someone.

There he was again, the boy with the dark hair, the boy who looked just like Jane – the boy with the strange eyes that I saw yesterday. The first thing he did was glance at me; jaws clenched, then put a stern hand on Jane and pull her slightly away from me. I was positive that they were talking – I could see their mouths moving, but when I tried to listen in on what they were saying I couldn't hear a single word after they noticed that I was listening.

At first I could hear Jane's hushed, fake sugar voice. "I brought her for you, Alec." Her gaze was unfailing – she didn't look away from Alec for a single minute, except when she was regarding me. "You wanted more of these, didn't you?" I could tell that the boy, Alec, was pissed. Alec… that was his name.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Alec asked her in a louder voice. Jane used hand motions to tell him to quiet down. I caught words like 'not her', 'told you' and other words that scared me, until their voices reached an inaudible level. I watched, confused, for any sign of what was going on, but I didn't get a single one.

**(AN,** the conversation that jane and alec were having went something like this – except they were talking in frequencies that she couldn't hear.

jane: these girls are your favorite, brother. i was doing you a favor. do you not wish for her?

alec: no! i say to leave her be.

jane: if you do not want her then i shall have her.

alec: you just fed – you'll feed yourself sick. now leave her be!

jane: flustered i'll find myself another, then. spits and leaves **)**

Somehow the conversation was over after about thirty seconds, which was odd enough. Their mouths moved faster than I could ever imagine, and I stood there, waiting for them to finish. Jane seemed to give up faster than Alec did – but she left with the same glare. Jane turned to me and her eyes flashed a bit as she looked at me and then stormed off, but before she left she spat in obvious dislike of Alec. Almost immediately after she had done that, Alec opened his mouth – it looked like he was going to sigh, but instead he yelled "MARGHERITE!"

A girl from the same way that Jane had left came in. Her red-gold hair looked dazzling, even in the dark light, and I barely was able to contain myself from staring at her more than I did Jane. Maragherite's eyes were an odd violet-blue and her skin was a glittering white color. She looked as magnificent as Jane and Alec, except… she was even prettier in a girly way than Jane.

"Ottengala da qui!" Alec seethed, speaking in rapid Italian. **(AN, **translation: Get her out!**)** Margherite looked shocked that he would act quite so rude to her – or at least, that's what I thought.

"Perché?" A confused female questioned as Alec angrily gestured multiple times to the door. **(AN, **translation: Why?**)**

"Ottengala appena!" He repeated, still pointing rapidly at the door and then at me. **(AN**, translation: Just get her out!**)**

I didn't understand what they were fighting about – but obviously it had something to do with me and the door. After a severe blonde moment I came to the thought that he wanted me to leave, which was why his fierce glare was on me, and then the bewildered woman.

"Ma come, Alec?" She still looked confused and that only seemed to fuel Alec's anger even more. He was stamping his feet and shaking his head at the woman. **(AN,** translation: But how, Alec?**)**

"I don' la cura di t, LA OTTIENE appena, Margherite!" As he got angrier and angrier his voice grew softer, but with more of a gruff tone to it. Margherite – as I guessed that was her name – and Alec turned to glance at me with worried and enraged looks on their faces, respectfully. I stared back at the two of them, both obviously fighting over what to do with me. For some reason I felt like the only child of divorced parents – and both of them wanted me – but in this case it was obvious that neither of them wanted to keep me. **(AN, **translation**:** I don't care, just GET HER OUT, Margherite!**)**

It seemed like Margherite was going to reject him once more, but then she shook her head and spat. "Ma è… eh, la vostra perdita!" I was positive that her spitting meant that she wasn't going to give in and this Alec had to do whatever he didn't want to do. Instead, I heard Alec's angel voice give me sweet words for the first time. **(AN**, translation: But she is… eh, your loss!**)**

"I'm sorry –" he paused, as if he was trying to remember my name.

"Vienna," I added. Quickly I surveyed the momentary look of pleasure and astonishment, for it left as quickly as it came. He seemed pleased with my name and didn't offer his own, seeing as how I knew it already.

"Well, Vienna, I'm incredibly sorry, but you won't be able to take the tour of Volterra castle today – I'm sorry about whatever Jane promised you, but I think it's full up right now for the tour. You're welcome to come back when it's not quite so crowded. If you'd just give me your contact information –" Alec looked surprised as I cut him off. Hell, he talked like an old man

I rolled my eyes. "I'm sorry, but I don't give that out to strangers – I'll just come back tomorrow."

His reaction was immediate. "The sorry is reciprocated, as I don't think that you'll be able to come back tomorrow."

"And why not?"

"We're full up tomorrow and the next day, and the next day for sure. Maybe on your next trip you can come, but I'm so sorry – we won't be allowing you to partake in this for the next week or so."

"Amazing! I'm staying for more than a week." I grinned, obviously hoping that I had won.

He shook his head in annoyance – but his eyes flashed a deep red when he spoke. "There's a dance tonight right off the historic district. Go there – you'll have more fun there than you would here." I could sense a threatening tone in his voice. "You'll be fine with Margherite."

I seriously doubted that.

But before we left Alec pulled Margherite aside and spoke something into her ear. At first she looked relatively composed, but afterwards she glared at Alec, resentment in her eyes. "I will not touch the girl," she murmured smoothly, though I could hear it. Ever single word was a different sentence, each had a different emphasis. For some reason it seemed like Alec couldn't trust Margherite with me.

Margherite looked at Alec one last time, then turned away.

"Do not feed, Margherite." He muttered to her while the silent girl turned away, her pale cheeks reddening by the moment.

"Vienna?" He asked.

"Yes?"

"Go tonight, it'll be fun." And then he walked away, leaving me with Margherite.

**( AN / okay, this is actually the beginning of EXCITING chapters. don't worry, there will be awesome things, like car-chases… or maybe not. the theme-song for this is OUT OF CONTROL by SHE WANTS REVENGE. listen to it, love it and buy it on iTUNES. come on, it rocks. out of control / tear you apart are the theme songs for this and the next chapter. listen to tear you apart…maybe there's a hint there. D**

**oh, and margherite is a volturi version of Rosalie, only evil, resentful and slightly less gorgeous and with red hair. but she's still pretty, don't worry! margherite's… just vain and resents humans the same way that rosalie resented bella.**

**and next chapter should be up in the next day or two, whenever i get around to it.**

**and yeah, this chapter is another sucky one, but i'm sorrrrry. you should see what I have planned for the next chapter.**

**what this one's lacking in, i swear i'll make up for it with more excitement**

**NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE SO MUCH FUN FOR ME TO WRITE, SO IT'LL BE UP SOON.)**


	3. chapter oo3, OUT OF CONTROL pt 2

I was pissed. Royally pissed off, totally POed – whatever you wanted to call it, I was pissed, I was mad.

What did that man have against me? Sure, the first time I knocked into him it was a complete accident, but he gave me a look like I was happy to get a second glance from him – and then he stalked off. Yeah, yeah, I know, he said sorry, but an 'are you alright? Oh my, I must get you some medical attention!' would've won him a lot more points. Those points, however, were slowly being subtracted. So after knocking into me he looks seriously pissed to see me again at the castle thing. He argued with Jane and then this girl, Margherite, over taking me to the castle and then about taking me away from the castle. I felt as if I was some type of nuisance that no one wanted, a little pest brother who would follow older siblings around.

Margherite had suddenly stopped walking and then started to stare me down. "If you have any common sense you'll be able to get back." She paused and shoved her nose in the air, as if she'd been holding her breath the whole time. Once again she glared before turning on her heel and muttering something barely audible that I didn't catch.

"Wonderful," I glanced back at Margherite who seemed to be enjoying my obvious dislike for her.

"And tell Alec I didn't do anything to you," she barely even raised her voice as I walked away, though I could tell that there was uncertainty in her normally cocky tone, as if... was she afraid of Alec? Oh, that would've been wonderful, but I had no idea if it could possibly be true or not.

I would've rolled my eyes but I felt _her_ eyes glaring holes in the back of my head, so I moved on seamlessly, not daring to look back. It was almost as if I knew where I was going, where and when.

When was the word that rang in my mind. When was lunch? I knew that I was supposed to meet Natalina at three or two or something but this time change made me nauseous – I needed food.

"Ugh," I grunted with terrible timing. I was just about out of the whole Volterra castle thing when I saw two incredibly buff men standing at what looked like a guard station. I heard a few words of Italian thrown around until they started to speak English. I'm sure that my confused expression showed them just how much Italian I knew.

"Excuse me, ma'am," one said. And _holy hell almighty_ it was as if I had gained thirty years when he said 'ma'am'. "If you came in with Jane's party then I'm afraid that you cannot leave without her permission." He had a superior look to him as he said that – and, of course, the other one seemed to be moving toward me faster that I could even imagine. Without even looking twice I decided that the one speaking was the smart one, the one with the plan. The one that was walking (or what looked like sprinting) toward me was probably the brawn behind the brain. Both of them looked extremely intelligent, though… I guess they defied the stereotype.

I looked at him with a look that I was sure was complete unlike myself – I pretended like I was confident and defiant – two things that I could never be without forcing myself to be. "I was with Jane's party but," he looked at me like he was sure I didn't have a good enough excuse. The one beside him, the brawn, wiped his mouth as I spoke. "Alec told me that I should leave." I wanted to add in the part about him telling me to go to the dance or whatever tonight – just to rub it in his face. I didn't even know if he would mind, but as soon as I thought of it he gave me a look of complete anger. "Oh and, uhm…" Immediately I felt insignificant and confused under his gaze before shaking my head. "Er… well… hm, I was going to say… uhm…" I hadn't noticed the guards before – and I felt so confused as soon as he started to look at me. "Margherite took me here and told me that I'd… I wouldn't have any problems from here." I could feel my face loosening up into a dull, dumb look until the brawn nudged the brain.

"Alec'll be pissed. Just leave her alone, we'll ask Margherite in a moment." I could hardly even hear what he was talking about, my head felt so muddled and I was so… What was he saying?

"Sorry, ma'am, you can go now."

"Q-quite alright," was all I could seem to manage.

Then it all stopped. It seemed as if the earmuffs had been taken off and I could actually think and that I could actually see and interpret everything. The brawn gestured toward the entrance of the historical district where it seemed like the exit of Volterra castle was. I glanced around for a moment and then stepped out, not really sure of what to do. I remembered something about Natalina telling me something about the time and lunch; after all, I was hungry. I didn't exactly remember what she said but I decided that it would be best to wait where she had dropped me off… wherever that was.

After I searched through the crowd for a bit I found Natalina sitting on a stone bench – texting, of course. I had managed to keep away from using all my roaming for my friends, but it seemed like she just couldn't stay away from hers. "Natalina?" I asked, sitting down next to her.

She tore her eyes away from the screen for a moment before nodding and then shoving her phone in her pocket. "Sorry –" she started, but I cut her off with a smile.

"So you said that we'll get lunch? I'm starving." After those last odd scenes all I could think of was food – I couldn't even form a coherent thought without food in it. My head still felt a little jumbled, but I was sure that would go away in a bit when I actually ate. I knew that I was annoyed with the time difference but really, this was another thing that I could add to my list of 'change-when-I-eventually-rule-the-world'. I followed Natalina to the car while she discussed where we should eat. I finally caught a complete thought after a few minutes.

"Alright, so we have the places that rich tourists started after when they decided that they could cook real Italian cuisine – and then we have the real deal. So what are you thinking for today, Vienna?" Natalina pointed out a few different places before we settled on one that actually sounded good – a non-authentic, cute but cheesy Italian restaurant that served American things as well. I could tell that Natalina harbored an obvious dislike of the place for the latter reason, but as long as it had a kid's menu with hamburgers I'd be fine.

"Cheesy and cute and _totally _authentic_._" Natalina scoffed.

"As long as it has hamburgers, what do I need to care about authenticity?"

Most people noticed that I liked to eat hamburgers at restaurants, even if I was in a great place for Italian food – Italy. I didn't really care where I was, but my restaurant-favorite was a hamburger until I learned everything about the menu and the place. Natalina ordered me a hamburger in Italian – and much to my surprise, the waitress looked somewhat pleased, though Natalina didn't. While we waited we watched as tourists struggled to order from people who could obviously speak English – but were toying with their customers. More than once we had to keep ourselves from laughing at the customer's surprise that their waiter actually spoke impeccable English.

Once our food came I managed to keep Natalina on a topic that was so broad that she could prattle on while I thought. But during her babble all I could think about was Alec's invitation to that dance thing tonight – so I had to ask her about it. "Er, Natalina?" I asked, unintentionally seeming unsure. "I was told by a, er, personI met today that there's a dance tonight in the historical district." I watched as Natalina nodded, as if there was something else she was waiting for me to tell. "Oh, uhm, and can I go?"

"Vienna!" It seemed as if she was going to fly across the table at me in her joy. For some reason it looked as if she was overwhelmed with happiness, the reason, I did not know why. "So that means that someone asked you to the dance tonight, then!" So… that was what she was so happy about. "Aw, little Vienna! Your first full day here and you already have someone who wants to go to the dance with you! We must go home and get your clothes on and do your make up…"

I stared at her, my mouth slowly opening. Once again she talked to herself as I sat there, wondering over what that meant. Surely this Alec had meant that he wanted to talk to me later, right? I hadn't ever been the best judge of, well, anything, so I wouldn't know. However, instead of playing acting defensive I decided to fake it. "That means… oh, this is fabulous!" I paused for a moment and took a drink of my lemonade. "Yes, we _have _to go home nad fix me all up." Jesus, that was the easiest thing to do. I was certain that she was going to tell me that I couldn't go or that my grandma would flip her lid if I went. "But… one thing," I kept a sly grin from leaking onto my face. "Are you possibly going to be there?" I raised my eyebrows in such a manner that it looked like I was hoping that she wouldn't be the stalker-ish-babysitter-creepy-older-sister person.

"Oh, oh no!" She practically shrieked, waving her hands. "I wouldn't dream of doing that. In fact, I have a date to that dance myself, so I'm so happy that you'll be going as well. I'm thinking that we can stay our separate ways, right? You won't have to stay by me if you don't want to." Actually, it sounded like she didn't want to stay by me.

For some reason I couldn't help myself from thinking that it was actually quite frightening to be alone with Alec. With the way that Jane and Margherite and the Brain and the Brawn had acted earlier, I was sure that was a plausible explanation for my paranoia, but… I was a bit nervous. I knew for a fact that it wasn't anything close to what Natalina thought it was – this was not a date. This was a way for him to make up for what he'd done earlier, right? You know, the whole freaking me out thing? Maybe he wanted to apologize for what Jane had done – whatever she had done. Honestly, I couldn't care less – she seemed nice enough and I wasn't about to complain about someone who had given me something to do for a bit. I was a bit anxious, though, about what this whole dance thing was about.

At once I acted like I wasn't alright with that, just to bug her. "Oh, well… I don't know about that… Jocelyn might not approve…" I sent her a sideways glance and watched as a look of utter terror swept over her face.

"I am positive, I am _sure_ that Jocelyn would've wanted you to go alone… you have a cell phone and so do I – you will definitely be able to reach me at any time." Natalina rushed to get all the words out. I found it hard to conceal my grin while she fumbled around.

"Natalina! I was just kidding!"

I finally allowed myself to grin while Natalina sighed in relief. "Thankfully! But Jocelyn had told me to take you to this dance thing anyways, so I guess that it'll be easier if you have someone to be with you the whole time, as opposed to me following you around." By now I was pretty much positive that she had a date of her own.

'Er, Natalina?"

"Yeah?"

"He's not really a date, though. I hardly even… I hardly know him. I'm a bit worried, though."

"I'll have my phone, don't worry."

"But what if –"

"Geeze, Vienna! Stop worrying! Not much can go wrong!"

I winced. I hated when people say that things can 'only get better' and other silly things. "Great," I muttered, turning my head away so she wouldn't notice me rolling my eyes. This would be interesting.

**( A/N **okay, so vienna names the one who starts talking 'the brain' since he seems to be the 'brain' behind all it. she names the one who stands sorta silently behind the brain the brawn since he looks a little more buff than the brain. oh, and the brain's powers are that he's able to make people be confused and forget things that happened up to a few hours ago – the brawn and the brain will play a part later in the story, just so you know. yaay!

and i'm SOOOOO sorry for the long wait/short chapter. i know, i know, i probably should've put more fluff in here... i just wrote this today because i realized that i hadn't done anything for almost a month! the next chapter will probably be up in the next few days. you have NO IDEA what i have planned for them... YAAAY. it'll be awesome, i swear. **)**


	4. chapter oo4, slaves to the dj

"You look nervous; let me do your hair."

I spun around quickly, only having stopped my nervous pacing. It was very cliché and I knew that but I couldn't help it. All my nervous energy was going to my nervous pacing and I was so very, very bad at waiting. I took a second to falter and then faced her. "I—you know what, I'll take you up on your offer. That sounds lovely." As I walked towards her I fingered my hair, touching each thin strand as Natalina seemed to survey me quickly and then grinned.

"Loose curls. That's it! You'll look gorgeous, Vienna." She put her hands on my shoulders as soon as I approached her, looking at my hair for a moment. "Did you bring a curling iron?"

I nodded and she motioned for me to sit down on the bed, which I did. Natalina went in and grabbed my spiral curling iron before returning and plugging it in. We waited in silence for a few moments while we both sat on the bed. Then, after the iron had heated up, she began to wrap my hair around it.

She had some type of stupid grin on her face. "Sooo… is this boy of yours handsome?"

"He's not mine! And… well, he's alright. I'm sure you'll get to meet him." I blushed. 'Yours' sounded like he was actually 'mine', which made me feel really awkward. I wasn't used to being _with_ with anyone – just hanging out with them or going somewhere with them.

"He sounds mysterious. What's his name?" Natalina continued to curl my hair, spraying it with some product after each curl.

For a moment I fumbled, still red. "Oh, well, uh, his name is Alec."

"What's his last name?" She seemed to be more intent on filling silence than the actual conversation.

My brow furrowed. "It's—in fact, I don't know what it is. He's never told me. I didn't talk to him for long – I actually met his sister, Jane, first." I continued to think, hoping that I would remember a time when he had mentioned his last name – yet I couldn't think of it.

We continued to talk for about twenty minutes while I got ready and Natalina primped. We left around seven o'clock. Natalina's date kindly waited for us at the doors of the hotel. I could tell by looking at her the type of men she liked – the slicked back type, like those vacationers who only tried to score. I giggled when we began to walk to the square. Surprisingly her date wasn't a random vacationer, though he had asked her yesterday to go to this dance with him. Apparently they met in some gelato place or something… I wasn't paying much attention, so I hardly even heard his name. I think it was Donovan. I was far too busy trying to see if Alec was ahead, waiting for me.

"Do you know where you're meeting this boy?" Natalina asked. Apparently we had stopped walking and were at the square. I was too busy drifting off to realize what I was doing. Maybe she was trying to pry; maybe she was trying to act like the chaperone she was supposed to be. Or maybe she just wanted to see Alec.

"Er, uh, no. He just sorta kinda told me to be here. I don't know what his plan was for this whole thing, so yeah… Uhm, I'm really sorry. I have a phone though; I can just wait here, outside this restaurant… building thing. I'll be fine. You two go ahead." I waved them on, feeling that Donovan – or whatever his name was – wanted to get away from the teenage girl who was cutting into all their dancing time. For the next ten or fifteen minutes I sat on the bench in front of a restaurant, looking around and hoping that Alec would be here soon and that I could find him.

I was beginning to become a little nervous – he and his friends were probably hiding somewhere watching me as I anxiously searched the crowd. I looked so stupid. I looked so stupid. God! I looked so stu—

"Vienna?" A pale hand was stretched towards me.

I looked up. I followed that hand up to the arm, then to the face – the angelic face of a certain Alec. His dark hair was slightly disheveled, but I couldn't expect him to spend tons of time on himself just for me. Not that he needed to get ready for me or anything. Other than that he was wearing a clean, nicely pressed white shirt with some type of dark blue or black pants – I could tell that they were designer, but I couldn't tell just which one.

"Oh." I gulped, still a little shocked. I had been in a trance of my self-inflicted nervousness when he had come up on me. How the hell did he manage to sneak up on me? Sure, I wasn't the most observant person but normally I wasn't that blind. "Yeah, it's Vienna. Er, Vienna Bauer but you can call me Vienna." God damn my nervousness!

He was trying not to laugh, I could tell. That or the look on his face meant that he was about to throw up – it seemed like a mix of the two. Alec shook his head, laughing under his breath, but he didn't seem to breathe very much. You know, like he was holding his nose because I smelled bad or something. I had checked beforehand though. I smelled like peppermints and strawberries. "It wasn't a question, but that answer was good enough. Vienna Bauer, eh?" His mouth was smiling but his eyes looked grim and… hungry? I suppose that was it.

Now I had composed myself, now I was ready to talk. I mirrored his smile but with real enthusiasm. "But you can call me Vienna, remember?" And then it came out, the bad joke, the stupid punchline or comment that you couldn't keep in. What the hell was I talking about? I had just said that and he didn't seem amused the first time so why would he the second or third time?

But he laughed. Hallelujah and praise whatever had made him seem somewhat pleased. I couldn't be happy with the fact that maybe it was me who was the one who was making him smile. "You got me on that one, Vienna." His white sleeves were rolled a little bit up, not by much, but just enough to show an inch or two after his wrist. His skin was like dusty dead leaves and the first snow of winter, but far colder. He put his right hand on his hip and gestured with his left hand for me to let him escort me over to the colorful lights and dancing people.

Maybe he heard me sigh and whisper "Here we go," as I draped my hand over his bent arm. For a split second I caught him turning and staring at me as if he were confused but I didn't really catch much.

"'Here we go'?" He asked, his eyebrows shooting up and vanishing in his dark hair.

I was lost when I looked over and tried to walk at the same time. Lost in his eyes, that was. I couldn't help but stare and he seemed to do the same thing. I managed to keep my heels up high enough over the cobblestone so that I didn't trip but I was worried about walking into someone so I looked down for a moment. "Yeah… To the dance floor I meant." I was blushing thoroughly and he was staring at me. Why was I so uncomfortable?

Once again that nervous thing struck. Alec didn't seem to notice – instead he just kept on grinning and began to dance with me. I was left gaping as he spun me around. "I bet that you look good on the dance floor," was all that he said, keeping me moving during the warm summer night.

He had done it again! How did he do that? Alec had managed to pull up something I liked and made me so confused. He was acting far different than he did earlier today. "… You listen to the Arctic Monkeys?" I was still gaping but my voice had some suspicion in it. "What did you do? Drill my gramma on this or steal my iPod? Go through my computer?" Not that I expected him to say yes or anything. This was just a bit too weird for me. I was joking, though, and he could tell.

"That's what I do on the days I'm not working," Oh, I had forgotten that he worked at that place. That's what Jane said, at least. I didn't know if I could trust her. "I go through pretty girls' computers and figure out their personal lives and all the music they listen to and then bring it up in conversations. It works every time. You're the first one to figure that one out, though. Shh, don't tell." Wow, was he ever smiling. I didn't think it was possible for a mouth to go that wide and show that many white, white, white teeth. How many times were those teeth whitened?

I couldn't help it – I started to giggle then all out laugh. We kept on dancing and I wasn't nearly as bad as I thought I was going to be. We continued talking and dancing for a while but it was dark out and I felt like my knees were going to give way – from dancing and from who I was dancing with. Hell he was more charismatic than any of the guys I had ever dated before combined. I forgot about how colorless his skin was until we got to a table where we spotted Natalina and Donovan. The candles in the middle of the table seemed to illuminate his skin and make it seem translucent. I could pick out veins in it…

"For something so painful, Vienna, it seems like you're having fun."

I looked away from Alec's arm, positive that Natalina was kidding, hoping that she was joking about how I was having 'fun'. Of course, that was only because I had expected her not to be quite so watchful. She hit the nail on the head though. I was having a lot of fun – he hadn't tried to murder me yet or hook up with another girl or attack me. Overall Alec was cool and made me want to have him come home with him just for more of his jokes. I could tell that there was something off though.

Alec's brow furrowed, but somehow managed to stay charming. "This was painful?"

I immediately sought to remedy what Natalina had decided to mess with. "Oh, no it wasn't. I was just worried and, well, I get worried a lot and you weren't here and I couldn't find you and I was—"

"Worried." He finished, still smiling. That was probably a hint that I should stop using that word. "There really was no reason for you to be worried about anything – I was going to be here for sure. I suppose that with my behavior then you probably assumed that coming here could've just been a suggestion." His smile faded down to the simple curving of the corners of his lips.

I was staring. I was stari—oh, that was so impolite! It was like pointing in church… Oh, God, I felt so terrible. I couldn't help it, but it seemed like he didn't mind. In fact, as soon as my trance was broken I noticed that Natalina and that Donovan guy were both staring at Alec. Both looked somewhat distracted and quite taken with him. I doubled back – they both did. Donovan?! Once again it seemed like Alec was offering me an 'it happens a lot' look.

"Oh, er, Natalina?" I asked, nudging her with my elbow. He was sitting across the table from me and diagonal from Natalina. For a moment I was a little bit worried – she looked as if she were about to drool. I recoiled and then shook a little bit, my eyes rolling up in another impolite gesture. But she was better now, shaking her head a bit.

"Huh? Is it time to go already?" She asked, wiping a little bit of spit off of her lips. She wasn't necessarily 'drooling over' him, it was just that she went slack jawed and forgot herself. She yawned for a moment, delicately placing a hand over her mouth the last second before she stopped yawing. Then she looked down at her watch and stood up abruptly, which was a little shocking after her previous languid movement. After that display of sleepiness I was expecting her to practically pass out on the way home. Maybe Dominick, er, Donovan, drugged her. He looked surreptitious enough so I wouldn't put it past him. For a moment I simply stared at her – wondering if she was drunk or just had some severe mental problems. But she seemed fine after a few seconds of standing up.

"Ahem." I was so focused on Natalina that I forgot about Alec. You know, if that was possible to forget some dark haired, good smelling, well dressed, Italian boy sitting across the table from you. "I was hoping that I would be able to give Vienna the tour of the castle that I had not been able to give her earlier today. It would only be polite of me to repay her for a wonderful evening."

I did all I could not to scrunch up my face in agony. I suppose that must've worked on a few other girls but it wouldn't work on me. I wasn't going to let him go by so easily about looking so pissed off earlier and sending me running off in the other direction with that Margherite. Nope! I wouldn't go. I don't know what Natalina would think about it though – she seemed to like Alec a lot.

"Eh, I don't think so." Natalina shrugged, yawning again.

"What?" Well that was slightly odd. Alec and I were in sync with questioning her. His was surprised and slightly agitated. Mine was just questioning – I wondered if she truly liked Alec or if she thought he was a creep.

He did look little creepy right now. His chest was heaving and his fingers were gripping the edge of the table. I don't think that Natalina noticed this; she was a little too busy making out with Donovan. I didn't know what they were doing… But now I was scared. Alec looked even angrier than I was this morning when he kicked me out. The whole time he had only breathed through his nose a few times – I could tell. He looked like a mouth breather the whole time – just like those people who would suffocate if they didn't have their mouth stupidly hanging open. But now his few breaths were short and ragged and spaced out. Either he was pissed off or he was having a heart attack. Jesus! What was his problem?

"Look, uh…" I searched for the right words. I didn't want him to fly across the table and start choking me. It sure looked like he would. "I'd love to – tomorrow maybe? I'm really tired from everything today and I think I should go home and sleep."

"No." His tone was irritated and I immediately bit my lip, looking down. "I told you this morning that there were no openings for tours tomorrow – if you want one you'll need to come with me now. _Now._"

I was immediately surprised by the harshness of his voice. "I—uh…" I began to stutter again then glanced up at Natalina, hoping that she would help me with this. "I really don't think I should go. Natalina's kinda like my surrogate grandmother right now and she sorta has all the say." I began to use filler words, those annoying filler words – 'like', 'kinda', 'sorta'! Did he really make me that nervous? Jesus _Christ!_

Natalina broke away from making out with Donovan for a moment and then looked at the two of us, a little confused and a little concerned. Donovan said a few words in Italian – I caught something like goodbye – and she repeated them, still staring at us. "I'm responsible for Vienna and I get to decide. I'm sorry, but we have to leave." She grabbed me by the hand and pulled me out of my seat (which wasn't such a good idea, seeing as I had pushed my chair close to the table and hurt myself on the way up). I was slightly shocked by her suddenly taking care of me. But I appreciated it.

Alec was left fuming at the table, a slight ashen color rising to his white cheeks. I didn't look back as we hurried forward and toward our hotel. No, it wouldn't be smart to look back – I was worried that he was going to pop up behind us. We got there in record time, mostly because we were practically running once we were out of his sight. I think that Natalina was just as worried as I was. The look on his face was terrifying…

Even though we were pretty far away from him we still hurried through the lobby and up to our floor where I slid my key in and then entered the hotel room. Natalina and I were out of breath and tired. She plopped down on the couch and lounged out on it, a weary look on her face. I stretched out on my bed and then looked over at my 'chaperone'. My loose curls might have slightly obscured my vision but it seemed like she was smiling. "Natalina?" I asked.

"Uh-huh."

"So what do you think of him?"

We both started to laugh, but she stopped after a second. "That whole thing he was doing at the end – yeah, that was creepy. I was a little scared for the both of us, to tell the truth."

"Yeah, me too."

"How about I sleep here tonight? I'll pull out the couch and make sure you're alright." She wasn't looking at me, but instead she was now pulling the pillows and cushions off of the couch. "Is that okay?"

I was already over by my suitcase, pulling out some pajamas when she asked – and holy God that sounded like one of the nicest things she had ever done. Maybe she was taking her chaperone responsibilities on in a whole new light. "Of course. That would be perfect."

"By the way – nice choice in guys."

I laughed again. "You too."


End file.
